Being a ski coach is a tough job. There is everything you need to know about conditioning, technique, tactics, equipment, and, of course, the mind. There are the logistics of organizing training, travel, and races for a group of athletes, and adapting to the ever-changing conditions inherent in ski racing. There are also the not-very-fun [...]
As the winter approaches, I’ve been working with a number of racers, from U16s up to World Cuppers. Of course, I’ve introduced them to the immense value of traditional mental training tools such as self-talk, imagery, and routines. At the same time, a real emphasis in my work this summer and fall has been on [...]
It’s that time of year again. Winter is approaching (or already started) and if you’re the parent of one more ski racers, or a ski racer yourself, you can expect to spend many hours over the coming months in a tuning room or garage filing, waxing, and scraping ski after ski after ski after ski [...]
The ski racing season (and the start of other sport seasons) appear on the horizon and we all have our fingers crossed that Covid-19 won't derail all of the amazing efforts of sports organizations, from local to international. Now is a great time to offer your club's or academy's community workshops that will provide deep [...]
This article is my fourth (and, I think, final) in a series exploring Fear of Failure in ski racing. If you missed the first three articles, you may want to catch up before reading this article (Part I, II, III). In those first three articles, I examined my evolving perspective on fear of failure and [...]
In addition to my work in the sports world, I have also consulted extensively in the corporate setting over the years. This work has focused on exploring ways to maximize both individual and organizational performance. Because I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of the tech world, a lot of my focus [...]
It’s hard to believe that we will very likely be on snow in less two months and, fingers crossed, back in the start gate soon after. After the abrupt end of the last race season, everyone in the ski racing community is “jonesing” to get back on the hill to train and then race. The [...]
As I noted in my previous article as part of SRM’s important conversation about how to drive U.S. ski racing toward its mission of “Best in the World,” I believe that mental training can be an essential piece of the athlete-development puzzle in our country. Unfortunately, as I also noted, training the mind holds second-class [...]
I would first like to express my appreciation to Dan Leever and Ski Racing Media for initiating this essential conversation about how the U.S. Ski Team can live up to its vision: “Best in the World.” I would also like to thank Dan and SRM for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this exchange [...]
Trust is one of the most important “muscles” you need to develop during this prep period. All of your efforts related to conditioning, on-snow training, nutrition, equipment testing and preparation, and, of course, mental training is devoted to established a deep level of trust that you can ski your fastest and achieve your goals next [...]
